CHRIS Coleman was somewhat sceptical when he heard that Coventry City’s England Under-21 international Danny Fox has now set his sights on winning a senior cap with Scotland.

“ He probably had a haggis kebab in Blackpool one night,” joked the Sky Blues boss. “But if he really has got Scottish blood in him, and he thinks he’s got a better chance of playing international football with them, then why not?

“He’s got to concentrate on domestic side of his game but if he get’s that opportunity, I don’t blame him.”

Fox and fellow defender Scott Dann have both made rapid strides since their switch from Walsall, Fox recently enhancing his reputation as a cultured defender with three spectacular setpiece strikes.

But he accepts that his prospects of overtaking the likes of Ashley Cole and Wayne Bridge in the England queue are limited. And he is now hoping to catch George Burley’s eye, banking on the fact that his outings for Stuart Pearce’s Under-21 squad were in friendlies rather than competitive matches.

“I qualify to play for Scotland,” said Fox. “It’s that complicated even I don’t know how – and that’s something I’m looking to do.

“Coventry’s my bread and butter but I’d love to play international football and test myself against the best players in the world and if that means playing for Scotland, I don’t see why not.

“ I think the next meet up for Scotland is in February, so hopefully I can get it all sorted in the next few weeks.”

Switching his loyalties north of the border would be a comparatively minor change for Fox, who abandoned his Anfield allegiances to sign on at Goodison Park as a 13-year-old.

“I got picked up by a scout from Liverpool,” he explained,

“but when I played against Everton they wanted to sign me. I thought I’d have a better chance of getting into the Everton first team because Liverpool had loads of money at the time.”

He didn’t make the grade at Goodison but he is grateful that he was able to resurrect his career in the West Midlands.

“You see a lot of young lads let go at the age of 17 or 18 and they never get the chance again. A few of my mates from Liverpool are playing non-League football now and I could have easily fallen into that category but I was given a chance at Walsall.

“It was a good standard in League One and I found it quite difficult. We were relegated in the first season but it was a massive learning curve. We won the league and got promoted straightaway – that was a great season, the best I’d played.

“I always wanted to move up the leagues, and that could have been with Walsall. We had a good team and we were doing quite well at the time but as soon as I knew Coventry were interested there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to come.

“I was a bit worried when Iain Dowie was sacked, but the chairman re-assured me and Scott Dann.

“I’m enjoying it massively and I just hope we can get better and keep progressing as a team, It’s a slow process but you just have to keep improving and helping Coventry climb the league table is my number one priority.

“We should have got at least six points out of the top three. There is nothing for us to fear.”